A fearsome attack led by Ravi Rampaul
set Trinidad & Tobago's Champions League campaign off on a
triumphant note, as they comfortably defended 135 for 9, against
Brisbane Heat in Ranchi. An intense Rampaul was both economical and
penetrative throughout his spells in the innings, and although Heat may
have been pleased to chase so few, they were rarely granted more than a
brief glimpse of victory during the chase. Rampaul finished with four
wickets for 14 from 3.4 overs, with Sunil Narine, Rayad Emrit and Samuel
Badree also contributing fine spells.

Denesh Ramdin
played something of a lone hand to give his attack a reasonable target
to defend, as he hit 48 from 38 after Heat had sent T&T in to bat.
No other batsman breached 20 for T&T, as Heat's quick bowlers
enjoyed the bounce in the Ranchi strip, as well as the slight movement
early on.

Rampaul found swing early on, but it was his impeccable line that set
the tone for T&T's bowling effort. Often pitching short of length,
Rampaul cramped the Heat's openers for space, and soon dismissed captain
James Hopes, who played on coming forward in the third over.

Rampaul's first spell lasted only two overs, but the rest of the bowlers
matched his discipline. Heat had only lost one wicket at the end of the
Powerplay, but could not manage a run rate better than 3.66. Subsequent
attempts to reel in the required run rate were often short-lived, and
retarded by dismissals. Only Joe Burns
had the measure of the attack, but even he could not achieve a
laudable strike rate. When Rampaul returned in the 16th over to break
Burns' leg stump, the batsman had hit 45 from 43.

Ben Cutting's 17 from 10 only hinted at a revival for Heat and his run
out, at the end of the 18th over, secured the match for T&T.
Rampaul's last over yielded the two final wickets, as Heat were
dismissed for 110 with eight balls still remaining.

Seventeen balls into T&T's innings, openers Lendl Simmons and Evin
Lewis had promised a profitable first stand, but their confident blows
to the square fence soon gave way to tame batting errors, and No. 5
batsman Ramdin was at the crease sooner than he would have liked - after
4.4 overs. A four off an inside edge got Ramdin under way, but he found
the middle of the bat almost immediately, as he guided a wide delivery
from Kemar Roach over the slips for four.

Ramdin's progress steadied after those boundaries, as he rebuilt the
innings from 38 for 3. He ventured an advancing six off Nathan Hauritz
in the ninth over but, as wickets continued to tumble at the other end,
Ramdin was content to deal in singles and twos. Jason Mohammed and
Sherwin Ganga departed off consecutive deliveries, and 17-year-old
Nicolas Pooran managed only 8 off 16 balls in his Champions League
debut.

At 83 for 6 after 14 overs, Ramdin's hopes of setting a total close to
150 had grown slim, but he slogged a four and a six off Cutting in the
next over to help inject some urgency into a stagnating innings. Ramdin
was out not long after, but Samuel Badree, coming in at No. 10, engaged a
previous avatar as a batsman and took T&T beyond 130 by striking
two straight sixes in the 16-run final over.

Chennai Super Kings did what they set out to do, successfully chasing
down a big total after putting Titans in to bat. They made it look
easier than it was, certainly when Suresh Raina and Michael Hussey were
at the crease. Dwayne Bravo batted breezily as well, ensuring the
four-wicket win with seven balls to spare.

Super Kings had to recover from a bad start in pursuit of 186, after M
Vijay was bowled by Roelof van der Merwe in the opening over of the
chase. The South African side held the momentum at that stage, having
already put up an impressive score courtesy of AB de Villiers' brutal
innings of 77 and plenty of wayward bowling.

But the Titans' bowlers were more wayward, giving Raina and Hussey the
freedom to settle themselves. The two batsmen also had to contend with a
10-minute break due to light failure after the first wicket fell. But
once Rowan Richards, Morne Morkel and Marchant de Lange gave away 13, 24
and 14 respectively off the third, fourth and fifth over, it eased the
run-rate pressure considerably.

The pair added 89 for the second wicket at over 12 an over before Raina
fell to David Wiese in the eighth over. He made 47 off 28 balls with two
sixes and five fours, having peppered the open field on the leg-side.

Hussey stayed on for a bit more, but also fell three short of his fifty,
in the tenth over. His 47 came off 26 balls, with seven fours and a
six. Similar to Raina, his dismissal too was a soft one as Super Kings
looked to the next pair to finish the job.

Bravo and S Badrinath added 58 for the fourth wicket, with the West
Indies allrounder bringing out his famous lofted shots on the off-side -
he struck two inside-out sixes over cover. He fell, and was followed by
Dhoni and Jadeja too, but Albie Morkel eased any nerves by picking up
the winning runs in the 19th over.

Richards, the left-arm fast bowler, took three wickets, but it came too late for Titans to force the issue.

AB de Villiers was Titans' star with the bat. He was eventually
dismissed in the penultimate over, but not before he had satiated
himself with seven sixes and three fours in a 36-ball 77. There was
hardly a mis-hit from his bat, and the sound it made for two off his
sixes over midwicket was scrumptious.

He ran hard during the 76-run second wicket stand with his captain Henry
Davids, who himself got 52 off 43 balls. Davids struck two sixes, one
each off Jason Holder and R Ashwin. Their partnership also came at a
superb rate, 12.32, with de Villiers contributing 43 runs. His fifty
came off just 27 balls and his innings bloated Titan's total, with
expensive overs in the middle-period: 14, 14, 17 and 18 came off the
11th, 12th, 13th and 19th overs.

But Dwayne Bravo pulled things back with two wickets in the 18th over
and next over, when he took the skier offered by de Villiers off
Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja might have got the big wicket, but it was a
truly forgettable day for him: apart from being spanked for 49 runs in
three overs, he picked up a two-ball duck. Hussey and Raina, though,
made sure his off day didn't cost Super Kings.

Mumbai Indians, the IPL champions, appeared rusty against Rajasthan
Royals on a juicy pitch in Jaipur and with only three more matches
remaining in the group stage for them, they will need to find their
groove immediately. There aren't any such problems for the team they
face next. Otago Volts came to the tournament as virtual unknowns but,
given their three dominating outings in the qualifiers, they are now the
team to watch out for.

Otago came into the tournament well-prepared: they played four Twenty20
matches in eight days in Sri Lanka and won all of them. The effect of
match practice was visible in the manner they destroyed Faisalabad
Wolves in their first match and Kandurata Maroons in the second.
Sunrisers Hyderabad were expected to offer a sterner test, but they too
were bulldozed in the final qualifier. Brendon McCullum, the Otago
captain, has been in red-hot form and his presence has made an already
strong batting line-up appear intimidating. Hamish Rutherford was solid
at the top and Jimmy Neesham appeared unfazed by the quality of spin.
Add Ryan ten Doeschate's all-round brilliance and a balanced bowling
attack to the mix and it becomes clear why the team has won their last
13 T20s.

However, Otago's success in the qualifiers came on a Mohali pitch which
offered some help to their medium pacers. In Ahmedabad, on a batting
pitch, against a team with batsmen who hit the ball long, the Otago
bowling could come under pressure.

Mumbai Indians might have failed to put up a good total in their first
match, but they do possess serious batting ability in their ranks and
their bowling has enough venom to sting the best. But the two major
changes - the absence of Lasith Malinga and the presence of Sachin
Tendulkar - to their XI from the latter stages of the IPL, when they
displayed their best form, and a lack of match practice are the areas
Otago will seek to exploit.

Watch out for

The availability of Mitchell Johnson
for Mumbai Indians last season relieved the team of the headache of
planning the fast-bowling strategy solely around Lasith Malinga. Johnson
was excellent with the new ball, picking up most of his 24 wickets in
his first spell, which meant that Malinga was preserved for the death
overs. In the first Champions League match against Royals, he did
generate searing pace and was denied the vital wicket of Sanju Samson by
the umpire, but he also went for 38 runs in his four-over spell. Mumbai
Indians will hope Johnson takes on the wider role of leading the attack
and makes an impression against McCullum & Co early on.

Twenty-three-year-old James Neesham
doesn't yet have the stats to make him a sort after player in the T20
market, but his all-round abilities are sure to invite attention. He
picked up two wickets in the first qualifier against Faisalabad Wolves,
but then shone with two impressive outings with the bat in the next two
matches. Against Kandurata Maroons, he formed a useful alliance with ten
Doeschate at a stage where the Sri Lankan side was on the ascendency
and stayed unbeaten till the end. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he was
keen to take the legspinners on, lofting them for a couple of huge hits
easily. Neesham's big test will start in the main draw.

Gary Ballance, Yorkshire's Zimbabwe-born batsman, is the most surprising selection in England's squad to defend the Ashes in Australia.

Ballance is joined by Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, and Warwickshire's fast bowler Boyd Rankin
as three England players who can only fall back on limited-overs
international experience as they undertake their first senior tour.

A surprising selection perhaps, but do not suggest, as one observer did,
that it could be perceived as "left field". England's management prides
itself in long-term planning. "There are never any left-field
decisions," said the national selector Geoff Miller. "He has performed
extremely well for Yorkshire and for the Lions. He has justified his
selection."

Monty Panesar,
selected as back-up spinner to Graeme Swann, also wins England's trust
after a troubled summer in which he was released by Sussex after urinating from high upon a Brighton nightclub bouncer in the early hours of the morning.

England have been assured by Essex, where Panesar has been on loan and
taken 12 wickets in five Championship matches, that he has rediscovered
his stability and purpose. England have taken those assurances on trust
and it will now be incumbent upon them not just to monitor his
behaviour, but contribute to his welfare.

Monty had his problems which we have worked hard to rectify - and he has
worked hard to rectify - in the last six weeks or so," Miller said.
"There is a very strong management in that side to help with all
aspects. He appreciates he has made errors and he is very sure those
errors are behind him."

Ballance, schooled at Harrow, is the latest example of England's trust
in players of southern African heritage, following the likes of Kevin
Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and - it now seems temporarily - Nick Compton.
Miller expressed himself unconcerned by the continued habit of drawing
talent from afar, contending that all the players, Ballance included,
had become successful in the English system.

Ballance made an inglorious second-ball duck on his England one-day
debut against Ireland in Dublin, but the left-hander's aggressive
middle-order batting has constantly showed up well for Yorkshire in a
season during which he has so far scored 1,107 first-class runs at
average of 55.35. England have also liked what they have seen at close
hand on England Lions duty.

Winners and losers

The extra batsman

Winners: Gary Ballance, Michael Carberry

Losers: Nick Compton, James Taylor, Ravi Bopara

England's selection of Ballance left doubts
about cover at the top of the order, where Root remains inexperienced,
so Carberry is added to a 17-man despite a modest record in red-ball
cricket. Compton is the face that does not fit. England determinedly
omitted him for the home Ashes series and there has been no
backtracking.

The stand-by wicketkeeper

Winner: Jonny Bairstow

Losers: Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Steven Davies

Bairstow was the obvious choice. He will
rival Ballance for the No. 6 spot and will pack his gloves just in case.
Long-odds alternatives would have been to use the deputy wicketkeeper
spot to blood Buttler on a Test tour, renew Morgan's commitment to the
five-day game or recognise the keeping excellence of Davies.

The second spinner

Winner: Monty Panesar

Losers: Simon Kerrigan, James Tredwell

Panesar won by default as other contenders
fell by the wayside. Kerrigan's method deserted him in a nervous Test
debut and Tredwell was met dismissively, for the most part, in the
one-day series. England will now have chance to monitor Panesar closely
and need to do so supportively. Woe betide any official, though, who
asks Monty for a urine sample.

The allrounder

Winner: Ben Stokes

Loser: Chris Woakes

England are not inclined to play five
bowlers, so Stokes can brace himself for an inactive tour. Woakes made a
Test debut in the final Test at The Oval but Stokes' talent and
competitive edge, showcased during the subsequent ODI series, won the
day.

The fast bowlers

Winners: Steven Finn, Boyd Rankin, Chris Tremlett

Loser: Graham Onions

Rankin secured his place as one of England's
few successes in the NatWest series; Finn can rediscover his best form
if he settles confusion over his run-up and whether he should be bowling
more outswingers. Tremlett has been picked on faith rather than form,
while Onions repeatedly found form but was determinedly ignored.

His pugnacious batting talents are now likely to make him a direct rival
to another Yorkshire batsman, Jonny Bairstow, for the No. 6 spot. He
can expect a place in the one-day squad, too: few can challenge his
career average of 56 in 50-over cricket.

Stokes's aim will be to provide additional competition for that No. 6
position, although his opportunity is only likely to arise if England,
who habitually prefer a four-strong attack, opt instead for five bowlers
because of the need to accommodate two spinners. That prospect is
rendered less likely by the changing nature of the wickets in Australia,
some of which - Sydney in particular - do not encourage turn as much as
they once did, a fact doubtless connected to Australia's inability to
find a successor to Shane Warne.

England, in any case, fielded Stokes at No. 8 in the ODI series against
Australia, preferring to view him as a bowler who bats, even though the
player himself tends to the majority view that he is a batsman who
bowls. He was sent home in disgrace from the Lions tour of Australia
last winter, along with Kent's Matt Coles, for excessive late-night
drinking, but he has since acquitted himself excellently and England's
forgiveness is evident.

England included Chris Tremlett,
too, after spending much of the summer anxiously looking for any signs
that he could rediscover his form of past Ashes series and enable them
to select a trio of physically threatening specimens in Tremlett, Rankin
and Steven Finn. Tremlett has been selected on faith not form. Graham
Onions, a perennial success on spicier county pitches, misses out.

There is reasonable news on Tim Bresnan.
He is increasingly confidence of recovering from a stress fracture
which was intercepted before enough damage was caused to necessitate a
much more prolonged lay-off. He was not named in the squad but will
travel to Australia and continue his rehabilitation with England.

"He will go out with the squad and when the time is right Andy will look
at whether he can stay with the squad or transfer into the Performance
Programme," Miller said.

England's 3-1 success on their last tour of Australia was based on the
excellence of their top four - and they succeeded without the cover of a
spare opening batsman. On this occasion, they have felt unable to take
that risk.

Circumstances are slightly different, as England's top order struggled
against Australia this summer. Michael Carberry offers the flexibility
for Joe Root to slip back into the middle order if he struggles to make
the opening job his own.

England have a strong Test record since losing the first Test to India
in Ahmedabad last November, winning in India, drawing in New Zealand,
overcoming New Zealand in the return series and taking the Ashes 3-0. It
is the sort of record that persuades them their instincts remain sound.

That is particularly the case in their continued omission of Compton,
with Carberry preferred as the back-up opener despite an inferior
red-ball record and none-too-convincing appearance in the NatWest
Series. England's management will not be swayed from the view that
Compton's game became dangerously introverted against New Zealand - and
successes for Somerset and twice against the Australian tourists have
not changed that.

He has also suffered from a perception that outside his runs he gives
little to the dressing room and because of his reservations about
working with England's batting coach, Graham Gooch, who he feels does
not understand his game. He also expressed his disappointment at his
exclusion quite forcibly and this England management prefers its players
verbally malleable.

The Performance Squad provides extra back-up. That group of players will
arrive in Brisbane just before the first Test before moving to Perth
and returning home shortly before England arrive for the third Test.

The ECB has had to delay one announcement. Ambitions were for new
players' terms and conditions, to extend to the end of the current
broadcast deal in 2017, would be announced today but wrangles over a
substantial rise in salaries from a current base level of around
£250,000 and the freedom to play for a longer period in IPL continue.

Negotiations were put on hold so as not to undermine England's Ashes
challenge this summer. The aim is now to complete talks before England
fly to Australia on October 23. If not, there will be fears of further
disruption.

Lions captain Alviro Peterson had just enough time to win the toss and
elect to bowl before a persistent deluge arrived in Ahmedabad to wipe
out any chance of play. Ground staff covered the square immediately
after the toss, and the fourth match of the Champions League was called
off around 90 minutes after that, with the ground - on which another
match is scheduled for 8pm - having taken on a great deal of water.

The teams take two points each from what would have been their first
match in the tournament, and will now head to Jaipur, where they both
are scheduled to play on Wednesday. They each have three more matches to
play in the group stage.

Debutant snares the big one With 60 runs required off the last five, Anand Rajan gets Sachin Tendulkar and TL Suman to reduce Mumbai to 83 for 6.

DC

Rajan holds his nerve in face of the rampaging Kieron Pollard to secure the win.

Advantage Honours even

For 19 overs Deccan Chargers, out of the competition already, seemed to be going through the motions. In the 20th, they came to life through Amit Mishra's four successive boundaries off his India team-mate Munaf Patel. Mishra and his India spin rival Pragyan Ojha then bowled eight overs for 34 runs on a turning pitch, sucking the life out of Mumbai's chase. A rollercoaster final over by IPL debutant Anand Rajan made for good drama too.

Mumbai, pretty much like Deccan, woke up in the last two overs of their innings, with 42 required. Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh took 16 off the 19th, and then Pollard got stuck into Rajan, who had earlier removed Sachin Tendulkar and TL Suman in the same over. Rajan was chosen to bowl that last over ahead of the overseas pro and expensively acquired Daniel Christian. Pollard hit the first length ball for a huge six. Rajan's attempt at a yorker resulted in a leg-side wide. Pollard got a thick edge on the next, and dived a mile to complete the second run. Both teams' scores after 19.2 overs were identical: 119 for 6.

Pollard started doing what Mishra had, flicking a leg-side length ball for four. The debutant had to be under pressure, although an expressionless face didn't give much away. Kumar Sangakkara and Ishant Sharma, fielding at a very straight mid-on, called conferences every ball. Rajan's previous over had featured the wicket of the best batsman in the world. He was throwing it away now. Then came a smart slower ball, a split-finger one, outside off. This edge from Pollard carried to third man. Game over. Rajan didn't go delirious celebrating in true IPL fashion. He just smiled.

For a little less than the first half of the match, Deccan hadn't had much to smile about. From the moment Michael Lumb lost his leg stump to Lasith Malinga in the first over, Deccan lived a stifled life. Not one of the main batsmen, except for Shikhar Dhawan, struck at a run a ball.

Malinga and Harbhajan Singh were difficult to get away, and Dhawal Kulkarni sneaked in three wicket-taking deliveries. It seemed Mumbai had resumed normal service after their 87 all out in their previous game. Then Munaf began the last over, at 112 for 6. Dhawan hoisted the first ball for six. Munaf came back well with a yorker that brought Mishra on strike.

This is where the game started turning. Munaf bowled a bouncer, and the top edge flew over the keeper's head. Munaf had things to say to Mishra then, which didn't quite go down well with the Deccan batsmen. Dhawan too joined in the exchange. An attempted yorker now ended up as a full toss, and ended up at the midwicket fence. This time Mishra was looking for Munaf. The next was half edged, half guided past the keeper. Mishra and Munaf collided on the pitch even as the ball reached the third man boundary. Another yorker went wrong, and another full toss was clipped for four.

Deccan went into the defence with confidence. JP Duminy, who was beautifully done in by a loopy offbreak earlier in the match, bowled a beauty himself, opening the innings. That offbreak, pitching on leg, hitting off, removed Aiden Blizzard, and sent Mumbai into caution mode. Now with Mishra and Ojha turning the ball square, Deccan's 135 started to look a good total.

Ishant, too, chipped in with the wickets of Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma. With wickets falling around him, Sachin Tendulkar seemed to be stuck between caution and aggression. He too tried to go after the debutant Rajan in the 16th over, with 60 still required. He punched him for four first ball, but then saw Suman perish to a slower one. To the last ball of the over, he moved across to try and pull, and was caught dead in front. Ojha and Mishra came back to give just 11 off the next two overs.

Pollard's hitting in the final two, which brought Mumbai teasingly close to a win, went on to emphasise that he should be batting higher for Mumbai, who are now out of the crucial top two on the points table.